'Biggest Public Toilet In The World' Now Good To Go In Japan

The biggest public toilet in the world, officials claim. The flowers and plants will be put in the ground after the soil has settled properly, according to The Japan Times.

Ichihara City

It's only for women — and only for one woman at a time, it seems.

But officials in Ichihara City, Japan, claim they've created the "biggest public toilet in the world."

As The Japan Times reports, outside the city's train station there's now a fenced-in, "200-sq.-meter plot of land" with flowers, plants, pathways and — "smack in the middle" — a toilet enclosed in a glass box.

"Why make it so unusual?" the newspaper asks. According to an official from the Ichihara City Tourism Promotion Department, "it's hoped that the toilet will become a tourist attraction for visitors to next year's Ichihara City Art Festival, which is currently in its planning stages. The festival is a government-led initiative to improve the area through the 'renovation of public facilities with the help of arts,' which they hope will attract more tourists and boost the region's economy."

The 6 1/2-high wall is supposed to help provide privacy. There also appear to be curtains that can be drawn around the inside of the toilet's glass box.

Cost of this project: About $125,000.

We'll ask before you do: Money well spent, or has it been flushed down the drain?